How to Use Microsoft Start to Curate a Personalized News Feed

Microsoft has just launched a news service called Start that curates different stories from around the web. Similarly to Flipboard and SmartNews, Start allows you to personalize your feed using its AI and machine learning capabilities.

Here. we’ll take a look at how to curate a personalized news feed on Microsoft Start.

What Is Microsoft Start?

Microsoft Start is a personalized news feed, aiming to curate news and articles from reliable publishers specifically for you. The main idea behind Microsoft Start is to help users create a single, personalized news feed that simplifies the news-reading experience by displaying relevant stories from authoritative sources.

Related: 5 Unique RSS Reader Apps to Stay Updated on News Feeds

So, what’ll happen to Microsoft’s decades-old news service MSN? On its blog, Microsoft assured users that MSN would continue as normal. However, Start’s integration with Windows and Edge is a clear indication that Microsoft’s focus has shifted towards its new service.

How to Use Microsoft Start

To access Microsoft Start, you can simply go to the Microsoft Start website. It’s a standalone website dedicated to this new service. Moreover, Microsoft has also integrated Start with Windows 10, Windows 11, and Microsoft Edge.

In Windows 10, you can visit Start from News and Interest. By simply clicking on the Weather icon in your taskbar, you can open Microsoft Start. Windows 11 users can access Microsoft Start from the Widgets menu.

If you’re a Microsoft Edge user, you can use Start from the New Tab page and stay abreast of the latest happenings. You can also install Microsoft Start mobile applications on Android or iOS. The best part is if you have created a personalized feed on your PC, Microsoft sync it with the mobile application, so you can watch your feed wherever you go.

Related: How to Access and Customize the Windows 10 News and Interests Feed

Having a very similar layout as Edge, the Start mobile application also contains shortcuts to tools like Unit Converter, Translator, Math Solver, and Games.

Creating a Personalized News Feed with Microsoft Start

Although Microsoft Start uses AI to show you the relevant news and articles, you can personalize the news feed to include or exclude topics and publishers. To create a personalized news feed, click on Personalize in the top-right corner of the website.

Microsoft Start then shows you a list of topics that you can follow. The main categories include News, World News, Lifestyle, Sports, Finance, Entertainment, Video, and Autos.

You can also search any topic from the search bar. If you’re interested in a particular topic, you can add it to your feed by clicking on it. Similarly, you can also follow your favorite publishers to view all their content.

From the Experience Settings tab, you can choose whether you want to view Sports, Finance, Weather, and Traffic cards in your feed. You can view your saved stories under My Saves tab.

The History tab makes it easier to re-read the stories you’ve read in the past two days. Apart from suggesting stories about your followed topics, Start will suggest content based on your activity and interaction with the stories.

Related: How to Personalize Your Google News Feed

A notable feature of Microsoft Start is that you react to stories using emojis. In the bottom-left corner of any story, you can view the option to react and the top three reactions.

By clicking on the More icon in the bottom-right corner, you can also save the story for later or hide it. If you prefer not to see articles from any particular publication, you can hide them from your feed using the More icon.

Microsoft Start: A New Way To Stay Informed

Thanks to the unlimited amount of information available online, personalized news feeds are becoming more and more popular. Microsoft Start is another such service that aims to provide personalized news, especially to Windows and Edge users.

As the content will be synced on desktop and mobile, you can keep yourself abreast of the latest happenings no matter where you are.

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